Dozens of Israeli settlers on Wednesday morning stormed al-Aqsa Mosque amid heavy police presence.
Quds Press reported quoting an Islamic Awqaf source that 128 settlers since the early morning hours started to enter the Mosque in consecutive groups via al-Maghareba Gate which has been under Israeli control since 1967.
The Israeli police on Tuesday arrested 12 Palestinian worshipers while they were reading the Holy Quran in al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards. The police released nine of the detainees following hours of interrogation and extended the detention of the remaining three.
According to Wadi Hilweh Information Center over 3700 Israeli settlers broke into al-Aqsa Mosque during May 2018.
Meanwhile the Israeli Nature Authority crews have been carrying out excavations in Bab a-Rahma cemetery near al-Aqsa Mosque in a prelude to turning it into biblical gardens for Jewish settlers.
The Islamic Awqaf Department in a statement condemned the racist policies pursued by the Israeli authorities to change the status quo in Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Islamic Awqaf called on Palestinians to intensify their presence in al-Aqsa Mosque especially during the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan in defiance of the Israeli restrictions and stepped-up settler break-ins.
